Disclaimer: This is a work of complete fiction.  It does not and will not exist outside the fantasy world.

© Matt Caper

 

 

 

Chapter 1

I had been in a state of `grumpy' for a while.  Even my parents backed off a little, and they're notorious for being intrusive regardless of my mood.  I was true to my name - Grey.  I just didn't see things getting any better any time soon.  Right in the middle of my senior year of high school, my parents had moved us to this shitty little town in Texas.  We'd come from the hill country of Texas; green trees, rolling hills, sizable community with lots to do.  Now we were in a dry, barren, dusty place full of cowboys and tumbleweeds.  The population was about 15,000, though the tumbleweeds probably outnumbered the people.  In other words, it sucked.

Not to mention I left all my friends behind.  Friends that I'd had all my life, that I was supposed to graduate with and party with all summer.  Instead I graduated as a loner kid with no friends and nothing to do in this god-forsaken town.  My dad moved here for work after being laid off, something to do with oil field service.  As best as I could figure, people would only come here for that reason, unless they wanted to ranch.  I had no interest in either of those things.  I know that disappointed my dad, but I can only do so much to please him.  I have to draw the line when it comes to hard labor.

I have nothing against working hard, but I don't see the point of working hard at something you hate.  Dad does it for the money, which we were apparently short of at the time of the move.  It's also for that reason that I was still stuck here come Fall, attending the community college.  My grades had been all right, but nothing that warranted any scholarships.  And my parents refused to go into debt more than necessary.

So needless to say I was more than grumpy.  I tried to make friends, but people here were pretty much cemented in their cliques.  You'd think community college rejects would be less snooty, but apparently not.  I was a bit socially awkward, anyway.  I didn't know how to interact with new people and was constantly embarrassing myself.  And so I remained an outsider.

The only silver lining was my living quarters.  Though I was still living with my parents, technically, the situation had gotten a little better.  When we bought the house, it came with a garage apartment behind it.  At the time we moved in, a young teacher from the high school was living in it.  She had been renting it from the previous owners, and my parents agreed that she could continue living there, paying the same rent as before.  She moved out of town during the summer, however (she had the right idea, if you ask me).  I begged and begged my dad to let me live in it instead of renting the place to someone else.  And finally he agreed, on a few conditions.  I had to maintain good grades, take care of the place, and no unsupervised parties were allowed there.  Yeah, like anyone would come to a party at my house.  Whatever, I didn't care.  I was free!  Free enough, at least.

Ironically, living alone in the apartment only magnified the feeling of loneliness that I'd felt since moving there, much to my dismay.  Sure, I had more privacy now, but what did that matter without friends?  Hence remaining grumpy and depressed.  I started spending more time at the local library just to not be at home.  Never mind that I could look up anything I wanted to on my computer.  The only real good that came out of that, though, was that my grades were pretty decent.  The classes weren't too difficult; just the basics.  Though Algebra nearly kicked my butt.  I had to work extra hard in that one.

Christmas break came and went.  I was kind of glad to see it go.  The holidays were pretty miserable without friends.  I must have been desperate for company, because I started hanging out in the house with my parents some evenings.  Mom seemed to like that, but it wasn't like there was a lot of conversation going on.  Mostly we just sat around watching TV together, something I didn't have in my apartment.

Winters here were very different from the hill country, too.  It actually snowed here, and sometimes in great quantities.  Add that to the wind factor - there were no hills around here to stop the wind - and some days were brutal.  And unless it was really bad, schools didn't like to cancel classes.  Back home, they'd cancel school over just a little bit of ice.  Not here!  I don't think my car was too happy about it, either.  Dad bought me an older model Buick for my 18th birthday back in March.  It was probably mostly to make up for moving me out here, and it was actually a pretty nice car.  But damn if it didn't rebel against the ice and the cold.

The car and I both made it through, however.  Somehow.  Late in February the temperature rose, the snow melted, and it was almost like Spring.  Mom was already getting Spring fever, going about the house cleaning everything from top to bottom.  And Dad got it in his head that he and I should experience our own Spring fever together, doing "small" repairs on the apartment and part of the house.  Scraping and painting outside trim, replacing baseboards inside, grouting and tiling a shower; I didn't consider any of these to be `small' repairs.

It was while we were cramped together in the bathroom, placing tiles carefully on the shower wall, that dad brought up the dreaded "girlfriend" subject.  I was still moping around a bit, and he thought the warmer weather brought perfect opportunities for dating.

"Met any nice girls at school?  You could invite one over so the four of us could have dinner."  He was expressing a wish rather than a mere suggestion.  "You're eighteen, Greyson, you should be thinking about these things."

I hated that he always called me `Greyson' instead of Grey, like everybody else.  "I haven't really met anyone.  I'm not good at getting to know people."

"You just gotta get out there and do it, son.  Pull yourself up by the bootstraps and go after what you want.  You woulda never been born if I hadn't pursued your mother.  You hearin' me?"

I sighed.  "Yeah, I hear you.  I've just got enough to worry about with making good grades and stuff."  The truth was, I didn't care a thing about dating.  I wanted no part of it, and neither did my bank account.  But I couldn't tell my dad that.  And I really couldn't tell him girls didn't interest me in the least.  I didn't know what he would do if he knew.  Besides, I couldn't disappoint him more than I already had in life.

If only my sex drive would've gotten the memo that dating was out, life might've been a little easier.  But my libido only got increasingly worse since age thirteen.  And what's more, because of my parents' habit of not respecting my privacy, I was constricted to either jerking off in the shower or searching out creative places where I wouldn't be interrupted.  Which is not easy, I might add.  Dad's caught me masturbating more times than I'm willing to admit, which only made me more determined to be more careful each time.  Even in my apartment I had to take precautions.  Neither one of my parents ever learned the art of knocking.

Regardless of the outrageous libido, I wasn't taking my chances with guys around here.  Boys and men alike wore jeans, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat all the time.  And plaid shirts, can't forget those.  And if they didn't know you, they didn't give you the time of day.  I could just see myself getting beat up by one or more of them.  I was pretty scrawny compared to most of them.

Girls sometimes flirted with me, even some from the community college (I was definitely keeping that little fact from my dad).  I was slender and not bad looking – kind of baby-faced, strawberry blond hair with green eyes - and I guess a little sensitive.  Apparently girls like sensitive guys.  But I always put them off.  I'd use my family as an excuse not to stick around, or studying.  I may have been lonely, but I still had some sanity left.

When February ended, everything changed.  And whether or not I still had any of the aforementioned sanity was debatable.

 

Even in our small town, I didn't do a lot of driving around.  Gas prices were at an all time high, and my measly allowance didn't go very far.  But one Saturday in the beginning of March, I was experiencing a bit of cabin fever.  I'd studied most of the morning alone in my apartment and was still in my underwear at two in the afternoon (though that wasn't too unusual for me).  I finally dressed and sprang from my self-imposed cage.  I hadn't a clue where I was headed and didn't care.  I hit a few antique shops and browsed around, but bought nothing.  Boring, but so much better than being in my stuffy bedroom at the moment.

Wal-Mart was pretty much Grand Central Station in that small town.  I considered going, but only for about two seconds.  There'd be too many people there, and I decided I wasn't that desperate.  So instead I sat in one of the parks for a while.  I liked to sit and watch people sometimes, but only if they couldn't see me watching them.  Sitting on a park bench with my sunglasses on afforded me that opportunity.  I was surprised there weren't more kids and families out enjoying the sunshine.  The temperature was up in the sixties.  In Central Texas that was practically freezing, but there in the panhandle it seemed to be unusually warm for early March.  As it was, only a smattering of women milled about with babies and toddlers; a small group of Spanish kids played on the hill, sliding down on pieces of cardboard; and a couple of Caucasian boys had the jungle gym all to themselves.

The jungle gym was located closest to my bench, so I watched the two boys for a while.  I reasoned pretty quickly that they were brothers; they were different ages and playing together, not to mention they seemed to argue a lot.  I couldn't hear most of what they were saying, and I didn't much care to.  But they did a lot of yelling at each other and mild hitting.  I couldn't really relate, being an only child.  Sometimes I figured the fighting would be worth it just to have a little brother around.

Things got interesting, however, when the fights heated up.  The older kid was scrawny like me, but nevertheless taller and bigger than his alleged brother, who was quite small.  He seemed to abuse that advantage by bullying the other kid and occasionally physically pushing him around.  I guess the younger one finally got tired of it, because the next thing I knew, he kicked the older boy in the balls.  Immediately the younger one froze, stricken with fear.  It was all over his face.  He knew he'd messed up and didn't know what to do about it.

The older kid appeared to be a young teen, so I was guessing the crotch shot hurt pretty bad.  He collapsed on the ground for a minute or so, until anger outweighed the pain, then he was up again and out for blood.  He took off after the frightened kid, who immediately took flight.  At this point I rose from the bench and tentatively started toward them.  But the pursuer caught up with his prey pretty quickly, and I quickened my pace.  The taller boy pinned the other to the ground and began slapping him in the head repeatedly with open palms.

I broke into a run, eventually prying off the taller, surprisingly strong boy off of the bawling youngster.  I wrestled with him for just a few seconds before he realized what was happening.  He gave up the attack and retreated to the ground, looking up at me fearfully.  He was crying a little, too, though nothing like his brother, who had his head buried in his arms on the grass.

I tended to the younger one first.  I wasn't sure of his age.  He was fair-haired, while the other had a dark mop of unruly hair.  But it was soon clear they shared similar facial features.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked gently, urging his head up to face me.  His shiny, wet face and big eyes looked almost innocent.

"No!  Noah hurt me!" he accused, gasping for air every few seconds.

"So?!" the older boy - Noah, apparently - yelled.  "You deserved it!"

I held up my palm to silence Noah.  "I saw what you did to him first," I noted to the younger boy.

"He was making fun of me and kept pushing me!"

I nodded and turned again to Noah.  "Yeah, I saw that, too."  Noah had the decency to look embarrassed.  "You two are brothers, right?"  Noah nodded.  "I wish I had a brother," I continued.  "I know I wouldn't be fighting with him like this if I did.  You two are shitty to each other."

I turned back to the preteen.  "What's your name?"

"Nicholas," he managed, still struggling for breath though his tears stopped.

"How old are you?"

"Eleven and a half."

I chuckled.  Even amidst tears he felt the need to add the `half' to his age.  Though truthfully, I'd expected him to be a couple of years younger than that.  I turned to Noah.  "And you're Noah?  How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

I nodded and stood with a sigh.  "Stand up," I ordered.  They both obeyed, which surprised me.  "Do you two fight like this all the time?"  I directed my gaze at Noah, since he was the oldest and basically responsible for his brother.  Noah merely shrugged, which I took to mean they probably did fight a lot.

"Dude," I told Noah.  "You're supposed to take care of your brother and protect him, not bully him.  What the hell?  Doesn't your dad beat your ass for the way you act?"

Noah's face deepened in color, clearly embarrassed.  He couldn't even meet my gaze.

"We don't have a dad," Nicholas interjected.

"We do so!" Noah yelled.

"Yeah, but he's in jail!" Nicholas yelled back.

"Prison, dumbass!" Noah yelled even louder.

"HEY!" I yelled louder than both of them.  "Shut the fuck up!  God!"  Both boys instantly stopped, though both still looked very angry.  "What about your mom?"

Noah shrugged.  "She don't care what we do."

"Yeah, she don't care," Nicholas agreed.  "She stays gone most of the time.  Our granny takes care of us."

"Only she's kinda too old to do much.  We hafta do a lot of things by ourself," said Noah.

I sighed heavily.  They sure had a tough time of it, I thought.  "Fine.  You boys are gonna show me where you live, `cause I'm taking you home to your granny.  If I leave you out here, you're gonna kill each other."

"No we won't!  Promise!" Noah said suddenly.  Both boys seemed desperate now to avoid going home.

"Yeah!" Nicholas echoed.  "We'll be good!"

I stared at each of them for a few moments.  I marveled at the fact they were willing to obey anything I said.  I wouldn't have thought it of them, given their previous behavior.  But why did I even care what they did?  They weren't my kids.  I wasn't responsible for them in any way, and I didn't need to make myself be.  I jammed my hands into the pockets of my khaki shorts and shrugged.

"Fine.  What the hell.  Just try to be nice to each other.  It sounds like you're all each other has."  I turned around and began to walk away, until I realized my sunglasses had fallen off during the previous struggle.  I searched the ground around me but couldn't locate them.  "You guys seen my sunglasses?"

Immediately the boys joined the search.  After a couple of moments, Noah bent down to the ground and rose up triumphantly.  "Found `em!"  Then, "Oh shit."  What he handed me was a pair of sunglasses broken and mangled.  "I'm really sorry," he offered.

"That sucks," I murmured.  "Whatever.  Guess I'll go buy some new ones."  Again I turned around and walked off, tossing the glasses into a trash bin.  I was still resolved not to enter the hell that was Wal-Mart.  I'd find a dollar store somewhere.

I was all the way to my car when I heard trampling feet behind me.  Boys' feet.  I turned around and leaned back against the Buick, facing two nervous looking boys.  I raised a brow and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for whatever they wanted to say.  I didn't know what was coming, but I was sort of surprised they ran after me.

Nicholas looked at Noah expectantly.  Noah shifted his weight from foot to foot repeatedly, his hands fidgeting with each other while he nervously looked at the ground.  "Um," he managed.

"Dude, look at me and say what you need to say."  Oh my god, I thought.  I sounded just like my dad.  I didn't like that one bit.  "Sorry," I offered quickly.  "I just mean it's okay, you can say what you want."  I hoped that sounded kinder.  It seemed to put Noah at a bit more ease.

"We sorta wondered if, um, maybe we could, um, come with you?  To buy sunglasses, I mean.  Or, like, whatever.  I promise we won't fight anymore.  You think we could?  Go?"

I was pretty much floored.  I had just berated them for their bad behavior, and now they wanted to hang out with me?  What had I missed?  "Uh..."  Now I was the one lost for words.

"Please?" Nicholas added, gaining bravery from his brother's lead.

I stared from one boy to the other, seeing how desperate they were for attention, and I felt a great deal of pity for them in that moment.  "What the hell," I said again.  "At least things are interesting with you guys.  Nicholas, in the back.  Noah, you're in the front.  And buckle up."  I got in and waited for them to comply.  Just what was I getting myself into?

I couldn't believe how well behaved the boys were in the dollar store.  They stayed right at my side, helping me pick out a new pair of glasses.  I finally settled on a pair.  It was only ten dollars, but I still hated spending that much on myself.  I tried to be real careful with my allowance.  Again I considered getting a part time job, as I stood in the checkout line.  It would be hard to do while going to school full time, but on the other hand, it would give me something to do in the evenings.  I filed it away for later thought.

"Hey," I said, gaining the boys' attention once we climbed back in the car.  "It's time for supper, and I'm hungry.  I don't really have much food at home.  I was thinking we could go out somewhere."  I guess I was feeling a little generous after they'd been so nice since leaving the park.

"Cool!" Nicholas yelled from the back seat.  Noah grinned and nodded his head.  "Where're we gonna go?" added Nicholas.

I paused to take in their appearance.  Both boys were way dirty all over, with wild dirt-caked hair, dark smudges all over their faces, and clothes that were not only filthy but raggedy, too.  "I'm thinking fast food," I muttered.  "McDonald's?"  I was met with whoops of joy and approval.

Thirty minutes and twenty bucks later, we were finally in a booth with our food.  Nicholas was faster than his brother and claimed the seat beside me.  I think Noah was disappointed, but he didn't complain.  I figured with a dad in prison and a mom MIA most of the time, the boys didn't often have someone paying them any attention.  I had to admit to pretending for a while they were my brothers.  It felt good; a little less lonely.  But I knew it couldn't last.

We sat around and chatted about nothing in particular for a few minutes after finishing our food.  But the time came when I had to end the fun.  It was now dark outside, and I wanted to go chill at home.  I loaded the boys once more into the car and instructed Noah to direct me to their house, which was pretty easy to find.  It wasn't too far from the park where I'd met them, and just down the street from one of the fifty thousand Baptist churches in town.  These small Texas towns love their churches.

"I'm gonna come in and meet your granny.  Your mom too, if she's here.  They should know who you've been hanging out with."  The boys seemed glad I wasn't just dropping them off and running.  It was pretty much ingrained in me to consult with parental figures.  My parents had always insisted on knowing, at all times, the friends I hung out with.

The house was small, like most of the houses in the area.  It was not more than a minute's drive from my house, but the income level was significantly lower than our neighborhood.  I suddenly felt pretty rich compared to them.  The inside of the house was pretty clean and uncluttered.  In fact, it looked to me like an old person's house.  All the furniture was outdated, including the TV, and the decor was antique stuff.  I was reminded of my grandparents' home.

An old lady came shuffling into the living room from the kitchen as we stepped through the front door.  "Hi Granny, we're home," said Nicholas.

"Hi darlin'," said Granny.  She was hunched over a little and moved slowly toward an old, worn out recliner.  I thought she had a kind face.  "You boys hungry?  Granny just finished putting away sandwich fixins.  Can you manage on your own?"

"We already ate, Granny," Nicholas continued, plopping down in the only other recliner in the room, both of which were facing the analog TV.  Early news was currently on.  "We brought a friend over."

"Oh?"  She looked up at Noah and me, who were still standing.  She noticed me for the first time and smiled.  "Who's this young man?"

"Grey Taylor, ma'am," I replied.   "The boys have been with me most of the afternoon.  I met 'em in the park."

She waved her hand at Nicholas to shoo him out of the chair.  "Darlin', let this young man sit down there.  He's our guest."  Nicholas immediately shot up and offered the seat to me.  I took it, and the boys took a spot on the floor right at my feet.  It felt kinda weird, them still sticking so close to me, but not entirely bad.  "They weren't a burden to you, I hope?" she asked, and it seemed to me she expected a negative response from the way she furrowed her brow and looked worriedly at me.

"Oh, no ma'am," I assured her.  "I caught them fighting one another, but we straightened it out and they were good the rest of the day."  I noticed both of them blush and look at the TV.  "I was just looking after them, I guess.  I got them supper too, I hope you don't mind."

"Goodness me, of course not!"  She seemed absolutely delighted.  "Darlin', fetch Granny her purse," she told Noah before directing her words back to me.  "I want to give you what you spent on my boys today."

"No, please don't!" I objected.  Noah returned promptly with the purse, and she started digging through it, apparently not listening to me.  "It was nothing.  Really.  You don't have to do that."

"Oh darlin', you have such good manners.  Like a proper gentleman."  I smiled when she called me darlin'.  "This is how a young man should act, boys."  She stopped digging through her purse, and I was glad, until I saw her pull out some green.  "Give this to your friend," she said, holding the money out to Nicholas.  He took it and tried to give it to me, but I refused.

"Ma'am, I can't take that."

"Darlin', call me Granny.  Everyone calls me Granny."  She leaned forward just slightly, though it seemed difficult for her to do so.  "Young man, do you go to school?"

"Yes ma'am," I replied.

"Well do you have a job to do after school?  Do you mow lawns or anything like that?"

I shook my head.  "I don't have a job yet.  My dad gives me an allowance as long as I make good grades."

She leaned forward just a tad more.  "Would you consider watching my boys when you're not busy?"  She certainly didn't beat around the bush.  "I would give you a little something every week, and you would feel you'd earned it.  I think they like you."  She smiled and indicated their places at my feet.  "I worry about my darlins.  See, their father is my son.  He was angry all the time like his father was.  And sometimes them boys are, too," she waved her hand toward the boys.  She paused then, and I realized she was getting a little emotional.  "My son threw his life away, now he can't be around to take care of his boys."  She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and managed a chuckle.  "Granny loves her darlins."

I fidgeted in the recliner a bit.  This whole scene was uncomfortable.  I mean, I was touched that at least someone cared about these boys.  I just wasn't used to displays of emotion like this.  Sure, my parents and grandparents loved me; I knew that.  But none of them would ever show it in this way.

"Don't cry, Granny," Noah spoke up.  His voice was gentle.  "We'll do better.  Won't we, Nicky?"  Nicholas nodded vigorously.

Granny was delighted with her grandsons' assurances.  Strangely, so was I.  I couldn't help but feel some compassion toward these two boys.  It occurred to me, too, that babysitting them gave me a good excuse to have them hang around.  To my parents, it would just be a job.  But to me it would be a chance to know what having little brothers would be like, as well as giving me someone to hang out with.  My age or not, they'd lessen the loneliness a little.  And I was betting it would do the same for them.

"What about their mom?"  I didn't want to ask, but I had to.  "Will she mind that a complete stranger is keeping her kids?"

Granny pursed her lips and took a deep breath, and I thought I saw a brief flash of anger in her eyes.  I could tell she was restraining herself from saying what she really thought.  "No.  She won't mind."  And that's all she said about that.

I nodded slowly and sighed, taking a moment to consider all the aspects of the situation.  "Do you guys even want me babysitting?  You get a say in this, too."

"Yeah!"  Nicholas jumped up and squeezed onto the recliner next to me.  "Do it!"

"Please do it," Noah said, adding emphasis to the word that Nicholas forgot.

"Yeah, please," Nicholas said, looking cute and innocent.

I looked at Noah, and he stared back, expectant and hopeful.  "I have rules," I warned.  Both boys appeared to stop breathing, waiting on my words.  "When you're with me, you do what I say.  I won't put up with the crap I saw at the park today."

"Don't be afraid to give 'em a good whippin'," Granny interjected.  "Granny would do it if she could.  Lord knows they need it from time to time."

"Aw, Granny!" Noah whined, blushing.

"Yeah, I'd do it if I had to.  And I can always bring you both back here and let you go back to being on your own."

"No!" Nicholas yelled.

I scowled as I turned to Nicholas.  "Dude, don't yell in my ear."

"Sorry," he said quietly.

I paused again and looked at each of them.  This was all so surreal.  My whole life was changing in just a matter of minutes.  "So you'll follow my rules?  And you'll work on being nice to each other?"

"Yes!" they chorused.

I smiled.  "Okay Granny.  I'll do it."  All of a sudden, both boys were hugging me while Granny chuckled and clapped her hands together.  "Wow.  Okay," I chuckled, too.  "So here's what we're gonna do."  I thought for a minute about my schedule.  "Tuesdays and Thursdays, I don't get outta school 'til four-thirty.  On those days you'll come home and do any housework Granny wants you to do.  I don't know if you have regular chores or whatever."  They both shook their heads in the negative.  "Well now you do.  And I just thought of a new rule, too.  If Granny tells me you've been fighting or you won't do what she tells you, you're gonna answer to me.  Understand?  She takes care of you, and she deserves your best in return."

"Yes sir," they chorused in unison.

I smiled, impressed with their compliance.  "Good.  So.  I'll pick you up around five or so."  I glanced beyond the boys to Granny.  "Granny, if it's all right, they can start having supper with me.  I figure it might give you one less thing to worry about."

"Oh, darlin', that would be wonderful.  Granny doesn't get around like she used to."  It amused me that she referred to herself in the third person.

"Okay.  So you guys will eat with me, we'll hang out at my place for a while or whatever.  We can even work on our homework together.  I'll get you guys home before bedtime.  On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I get out early.  Um, do you go to different schools or the same?"

"Same," replied Noah.  "I'm in eighth grade, Nicholas is in sixth.  We go to junior high."

"Awesome.  Then on those days, I'll pick you up directly from school and take you to my place.  Now, on the weekends..."  I trailed off, chewing on my lip while thinking.  "You know what?  It's cool if you wanna hang out on the weekends, as long as I'm free.  But I usually don't drive much on Saturdays and Sundays to save gas.  What if you just stayed Friday and Saturday night, and came home Sunday?  Unless I make other plans."  Expectedly, that idea really excited them.

"What about your parents, darlin'?" asked Granny.  "They might not want two extra rambunctious boys around."

"That won't matter," I told her.  "My parents have an apartment behind their house, and that's where I live.  The apartment is above the garage.  They won't have to be bothered by the boys being there."  It occurred to me at just that moment, however, that an extra bed would be greatly helpful.

"Does that mean," Noah began with a small smile, "that we can stay over tonight?"  I was still thinking about the bed situation, and I hesitated.  The boys noticed this hesitation, and both suddenly put on their best "puppy dog" faces.  Honestly, how could I resist?  Besides, boys can adapt to any situation.

"Yeah, why not.  Go get some clothes for tomorrow and your toothbrushes."  Faster than I'd seen yet they scampered out of the room.

I chuckled and Granny clapped her hands together once again.  "Oh, I'm so happy they found you.  You're worth more than what I can give you."

"That's okay.  My dad will be happy I have a job, and I'll know what it's like to have brothers.  It's weird, but I like them already.  They're pretty good kids."

Granny nodded with much pride.  "They're angels, God bless 'em.  They get a little devil in them sometimes, but you'll change that."  She seemed very sure of that.  "Noah, he's the one I fear for.  He's so much like his daddy.  Give him special care, he needs all the lovin' he can get."

"I'll do my best, Granny.  Oh, before I forget, let me write down my phone number so you can call me whenever you need me or the boys."

"Oh!  Good for you!  I didn't even think of it."

As I was writing down my cell number and address for Granny, the boys came barreling into the room, each carrying a plastic sack of wadded up clothes.  That's boys for you.  "Got your toothbrushes?" I asked.  Both answered in the affirmative.  "Got clean underwear?"  Both boys turned around and retreated.  Yeah, I know how boys work.  When they returned, they hugged Granny one after another, and then Granny insisted I hug her, too.  We left the cozy little home, and just like that my life was changed.